Missing children: Unsolved and solved Northwest cases

July 23, 2013 1:42 PM

Photo: mulitple

Image 1of/9

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 9

More than half of child abductions take place in the child's neighborhood, according to the FBI. The Lindsey Baum case is an example.

Baum disappeared from her neighborhood in McCleary in 2009 while walking home from a friend’s house. According to the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office, "Lindsey was last seen at approx. 9:15 p.m. on Friday, June 26th, 2009, leaving her friend’s home on West Maple, several blocks from her residence. She did not arrive home. Her mother reported her missing at 10:50 p.m ... An extensive search of the city and surrounding area was done without any results."

Sheriff Rick Scott with the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office said the investigation into Baum’s disappearance is still active, but tips have gone from a flood to a trickle over the course of her four-year absence. The Sheriff’s Office and the FBI continue to comb through the case and the community is still engaged. At an annual festival, the community hung banners reminding residents about her disappearance, and on her birthday, July 7, they held a celebration for her. On the four-year anniversary of her disappearance, the Sheriff’s Office held a press conference and released an age-progression photo.

Scott says more than 30 people have held the title of "person of interest" for varying amounts of time and different reasons, but that no one has become a suspect.

More than half of child abductions take place in the child's neighborhood, according to the FBI. The Lindsey Baum case is an example.

Baum disappeared from her neighborhood in McCleary in 2009 while walking home ... more

Photo: Mulitple

More than half of child abductions take place in the child's... Photo-4950505.66881 - seattlepi.com

Image 2 of 9

In the majority of solved child-abduction cases, children are abducted by a parent, according to the FBI. While Sky Metalwala's case is still unsolved, his father and his father's attorney, Leslie Clay Terry, have been very vocal about their opinion of Sky's mother's alleged involvement in his disappearance. His mother denies involvement but has not been cooperative with police.

Sky Metalwala disappeared in 2011 near Bellevue when he was 2 years old. His mother, Julia Biryukova, told police that she and her two children left their home in Redmond to take Sky to a hospital in Bellevue. She stated that on the way there, they ran out of gas in the 2600 block of 112th Avenue Northeast in Bellevue and that she took her 4-year-old daughter with her to the nearest gas station (about a mile away) while leaving Sky in the car. Biryukova said they returned to the car to find him gone and she then called police. When police arrived, they concluded there was nothing wrong with the car and that it was not out of gas. Although Biryukova had gone to the gas station, she had not purchased gas there and there was no gas can present at the scene. A search of the area resulted in no clues as to the whereabouts of Sky.

There has been no sign of Sky since, and no arrests have been made or charges filed. less

In the majority of solved child-abduction cases, children are abducted by a parent, according to the FBI. While Sky Metalwala's case is still unsolved, his father and his father's attorney, Leslie Clay Terry, ... more

Photo: Mulitple

In the majority of solved child-abduction cases, children are... Photo-4950503.66881 - seattlepi.com

Image 3 of 9

According to the FBI, more than half of child abductions take place within three city blocks of the victim's home. The David Adams case, which happened in 1968 but is still active, is an example of that.

Adams disappeared in 1968 when he was 8 years old while he was walking near Tiger Mountain Road in Issaquah, going from a friend’s house to his own. When he did not arrive home, his parents alerted the authorities and a huge search was conducted, yielding no results.

The case was closed when authorities assumed the boy had been attacked by animals or fallen down a mine shaft, but it was reopened by King County Sheriff's Office Det. Scott Tompkins in 2009 when Tompkins determined that a then-20-year-old neighbor of Adams was the last person who may have seen him because the neighbor was seen in the area where Adams went missing.

According to the FBI, more than half of child abductions take place within three city blocks of the victim's home. The David Adams case, which happened in 1968 but is still active, is an example of that.

According to the FBI, more than half of child abductions take place... Photo-4950504.66881 - seattlepi.com

Image 4 of 9

The FBI's site also states that many child abductions are witnessed by people who do not realize that a crime is being committed. Teekah Lewis' case is an example.

Teekah Lewis disappeared from a Tacoma bowling alley in 1999 when she was 2-1/2 years old. She was last seen playing in the video game area while her family bowled nearby.

While there have been some leads, no arrests have been made. Last year, John William Black’s home was searched because of his involvement in another child luring case.

In 2010 Black was arrested for and charged with child luring when he attempted to lure a three year old girl to his vehicle from a different bowling alley, also in Tacoma. According to the police report, Black was seen wandering the bowling alley and appeared to be intoxicated. Later the father of the girl saw him motioning to the girl with outstretched arms, saying to the girl: "C'mon ... c'mon ... Mommy's in the car," and "Mommy's in the car ... come here," but the child's father intervened.

Police found no evidence while searching Black's apartment to link him with Teekah’s disappearance, and Black denies any involvement.

The FBI's site also states that many child abductions are... Photo-4950506.66881 - seattlepi.com

Image 5 of 9

The killer of Linda Strait, Arbie Dean Williams, provides an example of why it is important to teach your children not to ever approach a car – whether the occupant is a stranger or not – no matter what the occupant tells them or asks them. According to the FBI, 68 percent of attempted child abductions involve a suspect driving a car.

In 1982, Linda Strait was 15 when she went missing while walking from her home to a nearby grocery store in Spokane. The next day her body was found on the shore of the Spokane River near Plantes Ferry Park. Investigators determined that she had been raped and strangled. Physical evidence was found near her body that linked her to her killer 21 years later, when DNA technology had advanced sufficiently.

Her killer, identified in 2004 as Arbie Dean Williams, had been in prison since 1983 for kidnapping two 8-year-old girls in Spokane Valley. According to court records, he lured the girls into his car by saying he had lost his keys and needed help looking for them. Williams then forced the girls into his car and drove until it was dark. When he stopped, he demanded that the girls remove their clothing; while one of the girls complied, the other managed to run away. The girl who did not escape was subjected to the same fate as Linda Straight: Raped and choked until she was unconscious. But she regained consciousness and lived to testify in court the day Williams pleaded guilty to killing Linda.

The killer of Linda Strait, Arbie Dean Williams, provides an example of why it is important to teach your children not to ever approach a car – whether the occupant is a stranger or not – no matter what the ... more

Wesley Allen Dodd is an example of the fact that almost two-thirds of the killers in child-abduction homicides have prior arrests for violent crimes, with slightly more than half of those committed against children.

The victims of Dodd were numerous and differed in age, sex, familial relation to Dodd and the severity with which he molested them.

Dodd murdered three children and molested an estimated 170 others. At 14, Dodd had his first brush with the law for exposing himself to some young girls. He was ordered to go to counseling but during this time he began physically assaulting younger children. Over the next 12 years, Dodd was arrested but not prosecuted for exposing himself; arrested for attempting to lure two boys; arrested and discharged from the Navy for “attempting indecent liberties” on a boy; served 17 days in jail and was ordered to get counseling; arrested for molestation and given a suspended one-year sentence provided he attend counseling; convicted of molestation -- serving four months of a 10-year sentence; and arrested and charged with a gross misdemeanor for attempting to lure a child and served 118 days in jail with a one-year probation.

Brothers Billy and Cole Neer went missing from a park in 1989. Dodd lured the boys into the woods and murdered them. A month later, Dodd lured 4-year-old Lee Iseli from a park and killed the boy in his apartment. A month after that, Iseli's body was discovered and the FBI and detectives from Washington and Oregon assembled a task force to investigate the murders.

On Nov. 13, 1989, Dodd attempted to abduct a 6-year-old boy from a movie theater and was caught. He was charged with the first-degree murders of the Cole brothers and Iseli and the attempted kidnapping at the theater, to all of which he eventually pled guilty. Dodd was given the death penalty and was hung in 1990. less

Wesley Allen Dodd is an example of the fact that almost two-thirds of the killers in child-abduction homicides have prior arrests for violent crimes, with slightly more than half of those committed against ... more

Photo: Mulitple

Wesley Allen Dodd is an example of the fact that almost two-thirds... Photo-4950501.66881 - seattlepi.com

Image 7 of 9

The FBI Child ID app: This free app is designed to help parents in an emergency situation get specific information about their child immediately to those who can help: Mall security, the police, the AMBER Alert system, etc. It includes 10 safety tips, forms to fill out about the physical characteristics of the child, a link to a program that provides physical ID kits and checklists for what you should and can do if your child is missing.

The DOJ says this about the app: "The Child ID App provides parents and caregivers with an easy way to electronically store pictures and vital information about their children in case they go missing—whether it’s a toddler wandering away at the mall or a teen who has been snatched by a stranger. Using the app, you can show pictures of your kids and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot. You can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities with a few clicks. The app also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing."

The FBI Child ID app: This free app is designed to help parents in an emergency situation get specific information about their child immediately to those who can help: Mall security, the police, the AMBER Alert ... more

Photo: Mulitple

The FBI Child ID app: This free app is designed to help parents in... Photo-4950500.66881 - seattlepi.com

Image 8 of 9

Since it began in 1996 the AMBER Alert system has been directly responsible for the recovery of 656 missing children in the U.S., according to the Department of Justice. The public can sign up to receive AMBER Alerts directly to a mobile phone when they are issued. But even without signing up, millions of new cell phone owners are automatically receiving free AMBER Alerts as a part of the Wireless Emergency Alert program, according to the CTIA, The Wireless Association.

From the AMBER Alert website: "The AMBER Alert™ Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child."

Photo of the AMBER Alert logo from the government AMBER Alert website less

Since it began in 1996 the AMBER Alert system has been directly responsible for the recovery of 656 missing children in the U.S., according to the Department of Justice. The public can sign up to receive AMBER ... more

Photo: Multi

Since it began in 1996 the AMBER Alert system has been directly... Photo-4980706.66881 - seattlepi.com